On the title song, the 18-year-old artist rejects the fads and game-playing that deter girls from expressing themselves (teens can embrace the line, “When the whole world is going left/It’s when I’m going right”). Rihanna tells a guy in need of a faithful girl, “You can trust in me” (“If It’s Lovin’ That You Want”). “Kisses Don’t Lie” calls emotions into question (“They call it love, but it’s really only lusting”). A half-dozen other tracks relate the ups and downs of romantic relationships.
“SOS (Rescue Me)” is a fairly innocuous love song until hormones trump reason (“When I see you, I get so hot/My common sense is out the door”). A woman keeps cheating on her man, even though she knows how her brazen infidelity is killing him (“Unfaithful”). “A Million Miles Away” and “Selfish Girl” suggest sexual intimacy without a clear marital context. Far more explicit and clearly not between spouses is the verbal foreplay of “Break It Off” (a duet with Sean Paul). Liner pix include sensual, come-hither poses, one involving a cleavage-baring bikini top.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty hails from the Caribbean island of Barbados, which is where she met a vacationing record producer. The rest is history. If only she had stuck with poppy love songs and resisted the temptation to play house in the sexual arena.
